Panacea: Highschool AU
by THEvampireninja
Summary: Sairys is one of the most popular seniors at his school. Caelen is an anti-social pretty boy with a knack for drawing bad attention. Each of these young men are slowly realizing they want more from each other than friendship.


A few things about this AU chapter-

1) The paragraphs can be pretty long, I know that, this is an older work and I've since improved.

2) This was written at a time where I obsessed over using a characters name for emphasis. If you're reading and it feels like there is an excessive use of "Sairys" or "Caelen" in any one place... well, you're probably right, but I already know that. Please, if you're going to comment, don't point that out.

3) I have also improved in my word usage and flow. Again, if you're going to point anything out, make sure it isn't one of the following: awkwardness, over use of a character name, big paragraphs, repetitive word usage, lacking imagery, sudden action, or anything else that could have been improved upon.

4) DO point out glaring spelling and grammar mistakes, I can always use to fix those, as well as if you're not sure who is talking/being referred to. I can make that clearer as well.

5) This is pretty short compared to my normal work, but I've been told my idea of short can be... well... long. So, now you've been warned.

6) _This warning is listed at the bottom of the chapter. I know, not much of a warning, but still. If I get complaints about this, I'll know they didn't read the whole thing._

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Sairys stepped out of the shower grabbing a big scratchy towel from the hook on the inside of the stall and draped it over his shoulder, the lockers and showers were mostly empty this time of day so there was no need to irritate his skin with the rough material. He let himself drip dry for a minute in the small area just outside the shower stall before pulling the towel up over his head and, using the tips of his fingers, rubbing the fabric through his blonde hair to get the rest of the water out. He stepped out in the main chamber that connected all of the shower stalls and took a right heading back to the locker section of the large room still drying his hair and watching his feet so he didn't trip over any stray shoes or other things. He had just reached the end of the row of showers and was about to round the first set of lockers when he was startled looking up quickly.

"Oi! Sai! I want to go home! Do you think you can finish sometime today, for fucks sake! I swear if you showered much longer I'd think you were a chick!" A voice suddenly called, echoing through the room causing Sairys to jump. He laughed lightly at himself shaking his head before answering the question, still standing in front of the wall of lockers, hesitating on the corner.

"Then go, James. I didn't ask you to wait for me." He called back, he heard the other man grumble something under his breath before replying.

"Yeah well you know your little _sister_if I showed up at home by myself she'd probably think I'd killed you and dumped the body." James replied, as if making up an excuse as to why he waited though he did the same after every practice.

"Well I'm sure he'd do the same to you, I know Fafnir doesn't appreciate being called a girl all the time… hell if you killed me then he killed you, two of his problems would be solved wouldn't they." He responded finally putting the towel down around behinds his neck and over his shoulders. He heard more mumbling and few curses before there was another response.

"Probably" James answered truthfully with a chuckle. "But if he killed either of us… scratch that, if he killed you at least I think he'd have more problems on his hands… since I don't think Naelyan or Grael would be too happy about homicide in the family… then double homicide if you count me." He laughed. Sairys shook his head.

"If you're going to go, then go. I'm not even dressed yet and standing here arguing over my eventual demise isn't putting my pants on, I'll catch up I'm not the _star player_for nothing." Sairys responded with a smirk knowing it would get on James' nerves.

"Shut the hell up, asshole! I was this close- _this fucking close_…" James said and Sairys could almost imagine him holding up his thumb and forefinger. "That's it I'm leaving, you can walk your own candy ass home." He complained and Sairys heard the door to the room finally open and close and he was greeted with silence that he knew would last, the doors were always locked on the outside by the time he was getting ready to leave.

"About time…" he chuckled as he finally rounded the corner and nearly flew out of his skin. A small mousy looking boy was sitting cross-legged on the bench in between the two sets of lockers. A hood obscured most of his face and he sat forward, hunched over a large tome of a book, with both arms wrapped around his stomach. He didn't even look up when Sairys rounded the corner. It took a moment for the blonde to get his breathing under control though once he did a grin spread across his face and he laughed at himself. "Caelen, how long have you been there?" He asked the boy who finally looked up from his book. Two penetrating blue eyes stared at him from the depths of the hood for a moment before Sairys heard a small sound of surprise and Caelen looked back down, mumbling something about catching cold if he didn't put on some clothes. Sairys tilted his head slightly banging one side to get water out of his other ear and when he righted himself the blonde strands fell into an almost natural side part. It took a minute or two for the boy to answer and in the mean time Sairys moved further down the aisle and opened his standing locker.

"Since you came back from the field." Caelen responded quietly. "I didn't want to wait outside." He finally looked up again and once he saw that Sairys had put pants on from the corner of his eyes he turned and put his feet on the floor, resting most of his weight on one hand keeping the other wrapped around his stomach and his head low. Sairys turned sideways as he pulled the rest of his clothes off of the shelf, picking the sweaty practice uniform off the floor and stuffing it back into the small crag of a space that passed for a locker before pulling his bag out. He hesitated however, before shutting the door, his grin fading a bit as he looked at Caelen carefully.

"Hey…" Sairys said slowly, narrowing his eyes slightly and setting his things down on the floor. "Are you okay? You're not sick or something, are you?" he asked, noticing now how strange the boy was acting, he was always reserved but usually less than this around him at least.

"No." Caelen replied shortly and Sairys nearly fell over waiting for more information.

"Ohh… kay…" Sairys said prompting further explanation, when it still didn't come he sat down on the bench next to Caelen and sighed. "Something happened again didn't it?" He said, knowing that for some reason ever since high-school this kid had to deal with all kinds of trouble. That was how they had met, the blonde cringed wondering what would have happened if he hadn't been so late getting home that night junior year, hell even by the time he'd arrived the bastard had had Caelen's pants around his ankles and the poor kid was in hysterics. It had taken all Sairys had to just beat the crap out of the would-be rapist and leave it at that, Caelen had never done anything wrong but be born attractive. If it wasn't every other person on the street, men and women, trying to get into his pants then it was some jealous fuck trying to get inflate his ego by beating up the 'pretty boy' to prove his worth. Sairys shook his head sadly, he'd done the best he could to keep most of the assholes away from the boy but it didn't always work, they'd even made these arrangements for them to go to the same college once Caelen had graduated, though the years in between had been tough… judging by Caelen's behavior now this was one of the times where the protection he tried to offer failed. After a long silence Caelen nodded and Sairys sighed frustrated, "You could've come down to the field, I'm sure I could have excused myself from practice for a bit…" Sairys frowned when Caelen simply shook his head no and the air grew considerably tenser. Finally a thought crossed his mind and he hoped it would be enough to part the cloud that seemed to have settled over them. "Oh! Happy Birthday by the way!" Sairys said cheerfully trying to lighten the mood, remembering the small bag in his locker that he'd been carrying around all day waiting to give to the 'new adult' on campus. "18 huh? That means you're legal now." The blonde added with a smirk, Caelen jumped so much at the comment that Sairys though he was going to fall off the bench. "Aww… c'mon I'm not that scary am I?" He asked with a pout to his voice, realizing belatedly that the comment probably hadn't helped ease Caelen's nerves and that it wasn't necessarily him that the boy was afraid of. His mood deflated again but he got up to get the gift anyway, watching Caelen wipe his face under the hood while he thought the blonde wasn't looking, before returning with a small box wrapped in shiny gold foil. He nudged the boy's arm with the box eagerly, "C'mon, open it!" he said sitting back down and stuffing it into Caelen's hands.

"You don't have to give me anything." Caelen said, looking at the box as if it were going to get up and bite him.

"I can and I did, now open it up, get a move on or I'm going to get my ass chewed out by my brothers… and probably James for being late again." Sairys said with a small smile, knowing very well that all of them were going to comment on it in some form or another anyway, the blonde was always late for something these days and it was always for the same reason. Caelen sighed but started tearing away the foil anyway; Sairys could almost see the smile that was concealed by the hood in the boy's actions. He smiled watching Caelen as he discovered that it was a box of expensive German chocolates that he was holding, he knew that the boy had a sweet tooth like no one else, and sighed content… happy that Caelen was happy. The hood disappeared exposing Caelen's face to the fluorescent light, more so that he could see the gift better but it also meant that Sairys could his skin, his eyes widened and his hands immediately reached out to turn Caelen's face to him. "What the hell did they do to you…" he asked there was a large bruise along one whole side of his face and Sairys winced, "That has to hurt, why didn't you say something?" he questioned, concerned. "Stay here." He ordered, jogging back around the lockers, through the shower corridor and to the bathroom stalls at the other end. He wet a few paper towels as cold as he could get them before hurrying back. He offered it to Caelen once he was seated again and the boy flashed him small grateful smile before taking it and pressing it to his face with a wince of his own.

"I didn't want to bother you with it."Caelen mumbled under his breath, breaking eye contact and looking at the floor, hiding the injured side of his face from Sairys' view.

"Idiot." Sairys complained, rapping Caelen softly on the back of his head with his knuckles. "It's no trouble, I said I'd always help you…" he said quietly. "That hasn't changed just because you're an 'adult' now." He tried to joke but somehow the fact that Caelen had seemed less and less inclined to rely on him was starting to bother him. He'd promised a long time ago that he'd protect Caelen, nearly four years ago after he'd just turned 18 himself, now he was almost twenty two and almost out of school for good… he sighed wondering how much life was going to change when he was, the way things were going he wasn't so sure he'd like it, it was already hard enough to accommodate the important people in his life. He knew one thing for sure, he didn't want to break his promise, he was afraid for Caelen's safety and sanity as a human being if he did. He blinked surprised when he realized that he'd been staring at Caelen for a while and the room had gone eerie quiet again. "Its fine…" he finally said,

"Just don't worry about bringing theses kinds of problems to me, I'll be here I promise… well… maybe not in a locker room where you can scare the daylights out of me but you know what I mean." Sairys heard Caelen laugh softly and the sound made him smile, though now it bugged him even more that the boy seemed so insistent on dealing with his problems on his own. Sairys felt like some kind of small animal had made its home in his stomach but was now trying to claw its way out, he didn't like that feeling. After more silence he decided there was something he needed to do, he needed to act now before Caelen pulled away too much… Sairys had waited so long… he couldn't bring himself to wait anymore… he knew he wanted Caelen, he'd known since he started his freshman year here… "I've… got something else for you too." He said slowly, watching the boy as he finally picked up and nibbled on a square of chocolate, the sweets lifting his mood tenfold just like Sairys had hoped it would. "It's something I've waited a long time to give you."

Caelen looked up at Sairys tilting his head slightly with one hand still pressed to his face, now that his features were visible it seemed like he could express so much more in simple gestures, Sairys had to compose himself again and Caelen watched curious the piece of chocolate hanging out of his mouth slightly while he scratched at the side of his nose. Sairys couldn't resist and he leant forward, quickly biting into the other end of the chocolate and chewing right up until their lips met. He watched Caelen's reactions carefully but didn't pull away, the blue eyes were open wide in shock and his mouth hung a little slack so Sairys pulled the rest of the chocolate into his own mouth, chewing but not swallowing. He watched intently as a deep blush spread across Caelen's face and he finally remembered to blink, hiding his crystalline eyes for a moment before staring back into the deep golden of Sairys' own.

The silence seemed deafening now as he waited for some kind of reaction, the one he got was not the one that he wanted. A single tear fell down Caelen's cheek… then another… and another so that before he knew it the boy was crying and he shut his own eyes disgusted with himself for breaking Caelen's reliance in him, since he didn't think the boy would exactly trust him any more with what he'd just done. He was absolutely blind-sided when he felt a pair of soft lips press back against his own and he opened his eyes again wide, yes Caelen was still crying but he was looking at Sairys with a small flicker in his eyes that surprised the blonde, he'd never seen it before… and he'd spent plenty of time swimming in those eyes. Everything else was forgotten in that split second when a sudden understanding washed between them.

Sairys brushed the book that was behind Caelen off onto the floor and slowly leant forward, as if with the motion of his body his tongue pressed forward as well still covered in chocolate, and now exploring the moist space open to it. The kiss was sweet in more than one way, he savored both the chocolate and the flavor of the mouth below his own, though soon the candy disappeared and they were left with a hint of it but now could better enjoy the taste of one another. He heard more than saw Caelen's legs fall to either side of the bench, with a snap that echoed through the room, and he immediately slid further forward pressing himself between them and sliding his hands under the hooded sweatshirt feeling the skin silky and warm under his fingers shiver at the contact.

That small shiver was a huge encouragement and while one hand continued to travel up the boy's chest the other slid lower and unfastened the button of his jeans as well as pulling on the zipper. He could feel the increase in temperature around them as he continued to explore what, before, had been forbidden to him. He pulled away for breath but the sight of Caelen's face flushed, mouth open, panting hard had Sairys diving back in for more. Both his hands soon found purchase, on slowly brushing across one of the small buds under Caelen's shirt and the other finding a stiff erection buried in his pants. He moaned softly feeling the hardened shaft in his hand and his own pants we're getting excruciatingly tight around the groin. They pulled away again and it was like they couldn't free themselves from the mess of fabric quick enough, Sairys standing up and quickly dropping his own to the floor stepping out of them and straddling the bench again carefully while Caelen simply slid out of his and pushed them further down along the wood… and then they were connected again. Sairys was impatient, his wait was over, and his hand already trailed its way down Caelen's stomach-

**{Sorry, edited out for FF}**

-Sairys might have fallen back forward, immensely satisfied, but he didn't want to lean all his weight on Caelen so instead he sat panting and buck naked leaning with his hands against the bench between the boy's legs smiling warmly down at the other with a million unspoken words on his tongue.

Caelen smiled shyly in return, blushing with what he had to say as well as heated from the pleasure still ebbing from his body, but looked up at Sairys seriously. "I've wanted to do that since the day I met you." He admitted softly, well he hadn't known at first what the feeling was but once he did he embraced it and waited hoping that Sairys would feel the same. The blonde couldn't help but laugh internally at the fact, it meant that this whole time he'd been worried about Caelen rejecting his feelings when the boy had been the one with a crush first. He chuckled lightly rapping Caelen's head like he had done earlier.

"Idiot, you should have spoken up."

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6) Before anyone complains that this isn't fanfiction, please check out my profile. I assure you, this is indeed fanfiction- which by definition is work created by fans which deviates from the already published/accepted plot of a work.

7) I also intend to adhere to the rules, and any 18+ material that doesn't fit the guidelines has been removed. If you're interested in reading it, find THEvampireninja on y-gallery . net and send me a private message, I'll give you a direct link there where I won't get in trouble.

**I hope you enjoyed! For more information about Sairys and Caelen visit either ENTWINED-PARR on deviantArt . com or THEvampireninja on FictionPress . com**


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